Three-dimensional (3D) printing (e.g., additive manufacturing) is a process for making a three-dimensional object of any shape from a design. The design may be in the form of a data source such as an electronic data source, or may be in the form of a hard copy. The hard copy may be a two dimensional representation of a three dimensional object. The data source may be an electronic 3D model. 3D printing may be accomplished through an additive processes in which successive layers of material are laid down on top of each other. This process may be controlled (e.g., computer controlled, manually controlled, or both). A 3D printer can be an industrial robot.
3D printing can generate custom parts quickly and efficiently. A variety of materials can be used in a 3D printing process including metal, metal alloy, ceramic or polymeric material. In an additive 3D printing process, a first material-layer is formed, and thereafter successive material-layers are added one by one, wherein each new material-layer is added on a pre-formed material-layer, until the entire designed three-dimensional structure (3D object) is materialized.
3D models may be created with a computer aided design package or via 3D scanner. The manual modeling process of preparing geometric data for 3D computer graphics may be similar to plastic arts, such as sculpting or animating. 3D scanning is a process of analyzing and collecting digital data on the shape and appearance of a real object. Based on this data, three-dimensional models of the scanned object can be produced.
A large number of additive processes are currently available. They may differ in the manner layers are deposited to create the materialized structure. They may vary in the material or materials that are used to materialize the designed structure. Some methods melt or soften material to produce the layers. Examples for 3D printing methods include selective laser melting (SLM), selective laser sintering (SLS), direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) or fused deposition modeling (FDM). Other methods cure liquid materials using different technologies such as stereo lithography (SLA). In the method of laminated object manufacturing (LOM), thin layers (made inter alia of paper, polymer, metal) are cut to shape and joined together.
At times, the printed 3D object may bend, warp, roll, curl, or otherwise deform during the 3D printing process. Auxiliary supports may be inserted to circumvent such bending, warping, rolling, curling or other deformation. These auxiliary supports may be removed from the printed 3D object to produce a desired 3D product (e.g., 3D object).